The International Baccalaureate is collaborating with schools on a holistic programme level review to renew and reinvigorate its education programmes for 16- to 19-year-old students.
As one of the first pilots of this collaborative review, the IB will work alongside UWC Atlantic to rethink education and design a new educational pathway. Created in partnership with the IB, UWC Atlantic will offer a bespoke, project-based curriculum focused on exploring complex systemic real-world challenges.
Focusing on four areas, Biodiversity, Energy, Food and Migration this bespoke curriculum, called the Systems Transformation Pathway, will shine a spotlight on transformative change, systems leadership and making the world a fairer place for the future.
“Graduates of this new IB Diploma pathway will leave UWC Atlantic uniquely empowered. They’ll learn how to organise at scale and address systemic challenges, balancing the ‘why’ of systems thinking with the ‘now what?’ of transformative change, inspired to secure a just future for our people and planet. This collaboration between IB and UWCA is vital in paving the way for the future of the DP more generally.” -Olli-Pekka Heinonen, IB Director General
The course will be pioneered by a global cohort of 20 students from the 2023 intake of UWC Atlantic students. Following evaluation of the pilot, the intention is that schools around the globe may also be invited to experience this transformative pathway as part of the IB’s multi-year collaborative project to review the IB’s programmes for 16- to 19-year-olds.
"A more forward-looking and relevant education for today's youth is long overdue. If we want our students to be bridge-builders and compassionate leaders who go beyond treating symptoms to understand root causes and initiate transformative solutions to human and environmental crises, we need to rethink the fundamental premises upon which our educational systems are built. This bold and courageous partnership between UWC Atlantic and the IB intends to do just that," said Naheed Bardai, Principal, UWC Atlantic.